


Something Meant to Be

by atributetotheclassicmovies



Category: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (TV)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-05
Updated: 2016-05-04
Packaged: 2018-06-06 10:49:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6750970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atributetotheclassicmovies/pseuds/atributetotheclassicmovies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Illya was drugged by Thrush and mentally turned into a 7-year-old child.<br/>Can Napoleon find the remedy in time to save Illya?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, thank you so much for reading my very first fanfic!  
> Please do not hesitate to leave any comments :)  
> Thanks again!

Illya had been disappeared for three weeks. Not a slightest clue of his whereabouts despite Napoleon’s endless effort to try to locate him. The thought of never getting Illya back occurred more and more often in him. _I’ll find him, I’ll find him!_ Napoleon clenched his fists and repeated the phrases to himself, but deep down in his heart, his confidence began to shaken as time passed. 

 

“Mr. Solo,” Mr. Waverley looked up at Napoleon as he entered the UNCLE office. “we found Mr. Kuryakin.” 

“What?” Napoleon couldn’t believe his ears. “When? Where?” 

“This morning. One of our agents found him sitting on a bench just across the street. He’s in the medical center now.” 

Napoleon rushed out of the office before Mr. Waverley could finish his sentence. 

“Mr. Solo!” 

“Yes, sir?” 

“I must tell you that, Mr. Kuryakin is… not quite himself.” 

Napoleon’s heart sank, and he hurried to the medical center. 

 

Napoleon opened the door carefully as he entered Illya’s room. Illya sat on his bed and looked perfectly healthy. Napoleon beamed and walked over to Illya. He called out his name in excitement. Instead of a welcoming response, Napoleon received a puzzled look from Illya. 

“How do you know my name?” 

Before Napoleon could even think, a doctor entered. 

“Here’s your milk, Illya.” Illya took over the glass with both of his hands. 

“Could I have some cookies too?” 

“Certainly.” The doctor turned and saw Napoleon.

“Oh, Mr. Solo! Sorry I didn’t see you when I came in!”

“That’s alright. Um… doc, we need to talk.” 

“Sure. Let’s talk outside.” 

Napoleon and the doctor went out of the room. 

“Doc,” Napoleon took a deep breath. “how is Illya?” 

“Well, the good news is that he’s physically healthy, there were no visible scars or wounds when he was brought in,” the doctor paused for a minute. Napoleon waited anxiously. “the bad news is that his mental ability was reduced to a child. In other words, Mr. Kuryakin is now a 7-year-old boy, mentally.” 

“You mean Illya returned to his 7-year-old self?” 

“Not quite, Mr. Solo. He doesn’t seem to recall any memories from his childhood besides his name.” 

“Any ideas what caused this?” 

“Very likely it was some kind of drug. We did find a very visible needle shot on the inner side of his arm…” 

“Will he… recover?” 

“We certainly hope so, but apparently time can’t solve the problem, Mr. Solo. What we need is the remedy.”


	2. Chapter 2

Napoleon walked in the office gloomily. Mr. Waverly glanced up at him and handed him a file. 

“Your next mission, Mr. Solo. Thrush threatened to plan bombs in a national conference, I want you to investigate the matter.” 

“What about Mr. Kuryakin?” Napoleon immediately added. 

“Mr. Kuryakin will be well-taken care of in the medical center.” 

“Aren’t we going to try to find the remedy for him?” 

Mr. Waverly stared at him rather sharply. “You have a more important mission, Mr. Solo. Remember your duty.” 

“My duty also includes saving my partner!” Napoleon paused, rather embarrassedly. “I’m sorry sir…” He looked up at Waverly. “I know both Illya and I are expendable to UNCLE, but Illya is not expendable to me, sir… at least let me try.” 

Waverly sighed. “Fine, Mr. Solo. I certainly can’t think of a better person to take care of Mr. Kuryakin. I will give you a month, that’s my utmost limit.” 

“Thank you, sir.” Napoleon prepared to leave. 

“Operation Alternation.” 

Napoleon turned back, confused. “Excuse me?” 

“Bernard Hayes, the scientist. Did that ring a bell?” 

“You mean the unsolved Thrush case five years ago? The scientist who was rumored to have invented a drug that can transfer human beings, but mysteriously disappeared before it was complete?” 

“Exactly.” 

Napoleon pondered for a while. 

“You might want to look into that, Mr. Solo.” 

Napoleon looked at Waverly gratefully. 

“Thank you, sir.”

Waverly sighed and slightly shook his head as Napoleon walked out of the office.

 

When Napoleon opened the door, he saw Illya struggled to get out of his bed. Napoleon rushed to support him. 

“Did the doctor say you can get out of the bed?” 

Illya looked at him sheepishly. “Well… No… but I feel perfectly alright now!” 

“You better get back there.” 

Disappointedly, Illya sat back on the bed. He stared at Napoleon for a while and widened his eyes.

“Oh, it’s you! I saw you before!” Napoleon’s heart leapt. Maybe Illya remembered him! 

“Where?” He asked eagerly. 

“Uh… Oh, this morning! And you know my name!” 

Napoleon’s disappointment was apparent. 

“But I don’t know your name…” 

Napoleon gently tapped on Illya’s shoulder and forced out a smile. 

“My name is Napoleon Solo.” 

“Mr. Solo…” 

“Call me Napoleon.” 

 

Napoleon took Illya back to his house. He planned to take Illya out again for supper, but the weather was getting worse. Reluctantly, Napoleon used some leftovers to make pasta. Illya stood beside him watching curiously. Illya got a good appetite that was for sure. Napoleon observed him very carefully. Yes, that was Illya, his loyal partner, the person that he adored dearly, but at the same time, he was not Illya, but only a child trapped inside Illya’s body. What if he remained like that for the rest of his life? No doubt Napoleon will take care of him, but if that really was the case, each day would certainly be more and more heart-broken for Napoleon to endure. 

“May I have another plate of pasta, Mr. Solo?” 

Napoleon’s thoughts were interrupted as Illya handed him another empty plate. 

“Of course. And call me Napoleon.” 

“Napoleon…” Illya murmured to himself. 

Napoleon wondered once again if his name triggered something inside Illya’s deepest memories. 

 

Napoleon helped Illya tucked in his bed. He then reached out his arm to turn off the lamp. 

“Napoleon, can you tell me a story?” Illya asked.

Napoleon looked at him for a while and sat down besides him. 

“Alright. You know UNCLE right? The place you stayed this morning?” 

“Yeah.” Illya nodded. 

“UNCLE’s biggest enemy is an evil organization called Thrush, and my partner and I will go on missions to try to stop those bad guys. We went through so many dangerous situations, a lot of time I was convinced that I was going to die.” Napoleon paused, and a sad smile appeared. 

“But I always knew everything will be alright, because my partner always got my back, and I always got his.” Napoleon stopped, this time even longer. 

“Your partner… Is he also a friend?” 

Napoleon looked up at Illya. “Yes, he is…was… a very good friend of mine.” 

“What happened to him? Are you no longer friends anymore?” 

“He,” Napoleon took a deep breath. “He disappeared three weeks ago.” Napoleon stared into space. “I should have never leave him alone in the office that night to finish the report,” Napoleon was mumbling to himself now. “If I were there, he wouldn’t be kidnapped, and none of this will happened…” 

Despite his effort to control himself, Napoleon’s voice started to tremble. 

Illya looked at him and tried to comfort him. 

“Don’t worry, Napoleon, he will be back.” 

Napoleon looked up at Illya’s pure and sincere blue eyes. 

“You think so?” 

“Uh-huh.” 

Napoleon forced out a smile. “I think so too.” 

“Goodnight, Napoleon.” 

“Goodnight, kiddo.” 

Napoleon patted on Illya’s cheek gently and helped him with the blanket.


	3. Chapter 3

Napoleon went back to the living room after Illya was asleep. He opened up a file that marked “Top Secret: Operation Alternation”. Inside was a photo of Bernard Hayes, who was kidnapped by Thrush due to his new drug invention. UNCLE did come up with a rescue plan, but failed. Hayes, along with the mysterious drug disappeared without a trace. Another photo was Xavier Creel, the Thrush leader who led the operation. Report indicated that he died in a car accident shortly after Hayes disappeared. 

_Nasty looking guy._ Napoleon thought as he looked at the photo. The only clue about the drug was that it transformed human beings, but in what ways? All of these happened five years ago. To UNCLE, the matter was closed, perhaps to Napoleon as well. He sighed and gradually fell asleep on the couch. 

 

“Napoleon?” Illya whispered. 

“Napoleon?” Illya tried again and shook his shoulder slightly. There was no response. 

“Napoleon!” 

“Hmm?” 

Napoleon answered without opening his eyes. He turned to face the other side. Illya sighed and tried to squeeze beside Napoleon on the couch. Napoleon was suddenly awakened by something warm and soft beside him. He tried to reach the lamp behind him when he heard a _Thump_ and an “Ouch!”. Napoleon turned on the light and saw Illya lying on the floor. 

“Illya! What are you doing down there?” 

Illya looked up at him and pouted his lips. 

“I wasn’t doing anything down here! I was lying on the couch beside you and then… and then you squeezed me down the floor!” 

“Oh, so that was you! I’m awfully sorry, are you alright?” Napoleon helped him up. 

“But what are you doing here? Can’t sleep?” 

Illya looked at him rather embarrassedly. 

“I’m… afraid…” 

“Afraid?” 

Suddenly, a lightning struck nearby. 

Napoleon smiled. 

“So you want my company?” 

Illya nodded shyly. 

“Of course. Come on over, this couch is way too small for two.” 

They lay side by side on the bed. 

“Feeling better?” Napoleon asked. 

“Uh-huh. Thank you, Napoleon.” 

Illya said with a yawn and fell asleep feeling safe and content.


	4. Chapter 4

Just like the first time, Illya stood aside curiously as Napoleon prepared breakfast. 

“Can you bring this plate out?” Napoleon asked. 

“Ok.” Illya took the plate and leave the kitchen reluctantly. 

“Illya, take this one too.” 

There was no response. 

“Illya!” 

Napoleon walked out of the kitchen. He saw Illya holding Creel’s photo, which he left on the coffee table yesterday. Observing very carefully, Illya looked up at Napoleon. 

“This man looks mean. Is he a bad guy?” 

Napoleon goes over to him. 

“Well, he was.” 

“… He looks familiar.” Illya tilted his head to the side. 

“Did you remember where you see him?” Napoleon asked eagerly. 

Illya paused for a while to think. 

“No… Maybe on TV?” 

“Oh.” 

Napoleon answered disappointedly and slowly walked back to the kitchen. 

Illya looked after him and was obviously confused by Napoleon’s reactions.

 

As usual, Illya had good appetite no matter what time of a day it was. Napoleon watched Illya ate happily. 

“Oh, the sun was out today! Can we go out and play?” He smiled at Napoleon. 

“Why not?” After a pause, Napoleon added, “Wasn’t the thunder scary yesterday night?” 

“I’m not afraid of thunder.” Illya said without hesitation. 

Napoleon was amused as he thought of Illya’s actions yesterday.

“Oh, you aren’t?” 

“Nope. It was the rain that scared me.” 

“The rain?” 

“Yeah, it reminded me of a place. A scary place where I’ve been before. It was really dark, and there were those dripping sounds all over the place…” 

“And then?” Napoleon leaned forward on the chair anxiously. 

“And… I can’t remember.” 

“Think harder.” 

Illya was perplexed again by Napoleon’s sudden changed in tone. 

“I don’t know.” 

“What do you mean you don’t know? Goddammit, THINK!” 

Illya was shocked by Napoleon’s anger and Napoleon regretted the minute the words came out of his mouth. He saw Illya’s blue eyes gradually full with tears. 

“I’m sorry Illya, I didn’t mean that.” He walked over to Illya, who was sobbing quietly.

Napoleon held up his chin. 

“Will you forgive me?” 

Illya looked at him for a while and nodded.


	5. Chapter 5

One month deadline was almost up, still, Napoleon scarcely had any ideas where to get the remedy. He grew more restless each day. He tried to relax and be cheerful in front of Illya, but there was clearly tension in the air, and Illya sensed it. 

“Are you mad at me, Napoleon?” Illya asked him one day. 

“What? Why should I?” 

“You look so unhappy these days.” 

“Do I?” Napoleon paused. “You think too much, Illya.” He said affectionately. 

Illya smiles. 

“Let’s take a walk, shall we?” Napoleon said. 

He thought a little stroll might loosen up the atmosphere.

 

They walked side by side on the pavements. Napoleon was deep in his thoughts, when Illya’s voice brought him back to reality. 

“Napoleon, look! It’s Pumpkin!”

“Pumpkin?” 

Illya pointed at a chubby, orange cat excitedly, who was sitting at a corner licking her paw. 

“Uh… Do you guys know each other?” 

“Of course we do! That’s why I call her Pumpkin!” 

Pumpkin stood up, jumped, and disappeared into an alley. 

“Wait for me, Pumpkin!” Illya chased after her. 

“Illya, wait!” Napoleon ran after him. 

After a few turns, Napoleon saw Illya stood in front of an alleyway that led to a dark tunnel. 

“What’s the matter?” Napoleon asked worriedly. 

“The tunnel, I know this place, I’ve been here before.” 

Napoleon pulled out his gun. 

“Stay here.” 

“I’m going with you.” Illya insisted. 

Napoleon sighed, there was no time to argue. 

 

They crawled into the narrow tunnel. It was dark with those dripping sounds Illya mentioned before. Napoleon walked cautiously, one hand with a gun while the other holding Illya. The tunnel seemed to get slightly warmer and brighter. Napoleon’s suspicion arose. He took out his communicator. 

“Open Channel D. Mr. Waverly.” 

“Yes, Mr. Solo, come in.” 

“Illya and I are in a tunnel that might connect to Operation Alternation.” 

“Are you positive?” 

“Not quite, but Illya said he remember the place.” 

“Very well then. We will triangulate your position and send a few agents there.” 

“Thank you, sir.” 

Napoleon turned to Illya. 

“Stay here, backups will be here soon.” 

“What about you?” 

“I’ll be alright.” 

“But Napoleon…” 

“Please.” 

“Alright. Be careful, Napoleon.” 

Napoleon nodded and crawled further through the tunnel into a slightly open area. The place was even brighter, but not bright enough to see the whole surrounding. Suddenly, several spotlights shone upon him. The harsh lights hurt his eyes. Napoleon covered his eyes with one of his arms. 

“Welcome, Mr. Solo!” A creepy voice appeared. “I’ve been waiting for you for so long! How’s Mr. Kuryakin? I gathered the drug worked very well, huh?” Napoleon tried not to let this statement angered him. 

The figure gradually appeared from the shadow. 

“That’s… impossible!” Napoleon exclaimed. 

“Why? Can’t a dead man live again?” Creel said. “How foolish of UNCLE. We planned a fake little accident just to continue our experiment, and UNCLE bought it!” Creel laughed maliciously. He continued. “Mr. Hayes and I finally found the perfect drug that can transfer an adult into a child, but I don’t think you need my further explanation, because you already have a wonderful proof on Mr. Kuryakin.” Napoleon did his best to calm down. 

“Don’t be happy too soon, Creel. You are exposed.” 

“Exposed?” Creel laughed. “I’m afraid your backups are trapped outside of the tunnel, you know, all sides of the tunnel were sealed once strangers invaded.” 

“Illya!” Napoleon said under his breath. 

“Joseph!” Creel snapped his fingers. “Bring Mr. Kuryakin in.” Napoleon saw Joseph holding a knife to Illya’s neck. “One small move, Mr. Solo, Joseph here will slit his throat without mercy.” 

“Fine. I’ll do anything you want, but don’t you dare hurt him.” 

Napoleon put his gun down on the floor.


	6. Chapter 6

Illya and Napoleon were tied to chairs beside each other. 

“I’m sorry, Illya.” Napoleon said. 

Illya shook his head and tried to squeeze out a smile. 

Creel walked towards them with an evil smile. 

“Feeling comfortable, Mr. Solo?” And he turned to Illya. “Mr. Kuryakin?” 

He held out his hand. 

“Mr. Hayes, could you hand me the needle please?” 

Napoleon looked up at Hayes. “Oh, Mr. Hayes, so you are here!” 

Hayes prepared the shot and pretended not to notice Napoleon. 

“Embrace yourself, Mr. Solo. You are going to love this. The result will be better than the time we used on Mr. Kuryakin.” 

Illya’s eyes followed Creel in terror as he slowly approached Napoleon. Napoleon was obviously in terror as well, but he tried to stay calm. 

“Look at me, Illya. It’s going to be alright.” 

Napoleon narrowed his eyes and held his breath as the needle getting closer and closer to him. Suddenly, a loud _thump_ , Creel groaned and fell to the ground. Napoleon and Illya looked up, confused. They saw Hayes holding up his cane, panting heavily, and was obviously surprised by his own action. 

“Mr. Hayes?” Napoleon said. 

He snapped back to the reality and untied Napoleon. 

“You don’t think I want to help this nasty guy hurting more people do you? I can’t stand this anymore. I was a slave of his all those years. You guys are my last chance to get out of here. How can I not use it?” 

“Uh-huh, I thought so.” Napoleon answered. 

Hayes’ tone suddenly softened. 

“Mr. Solo, would you please forgive me for what I’ve done to Mr. Kuryakin? I was forced, he’ll kill me if I don’t.” 

Meanwhile, Creel regained consciousness and struggled to drag his body further. He pressed a red button nearby. 

“Nobody’s going to leave here! I already activated the emergency system, twenty… twenty minutes later, we will all be buried down here along with this precious drug!” Creel said weakly but sharply. 

“I’m not going to die here alone!” He laughed maliciously until he lost his breath. 

Hayes sweated nervously. “Will you forgive me, Mr. Solo?” 

“We have no time for this, Mr. Hayes, where’s the remedy?” Napoleon asked as he untied Illya. 

“Well… the remedy isn’t completely done yet, I’m not sure…” He answered with hesitation. 

“Mr. Hayes please, we only got 18 minutes left.” 

Napoleon looked at his watch and tried to figure out an escape plan. Hayes flipped through some stuffs and held up a little bottle.

“Is it?” Napoleon asked. Hayes nodded. 

“Come on, let’s get out of here!” 

Napoleon took Illya’s hand and Hayes followed them closely. Fortunately, the backups were already there, attempting to open up the gates. They escaped the tunnel five minutes before the explosion. 

......

“That was closed, Mr. Solo.” Mr. Waverly told Napoleon as they waited for Hayes to give Illya the shot. 

Illya sat on the bed. He looked at Hayes and then Napoleon. Napoleon comforted him. 

“Mr. Hayes here is going to give you a little shot that will make you better. You do believe us, do you?” Illya was slightly confused, but then nodded his head firmly. 

“I’m still not sure this is a good idea, Mr. Solo, Mr. Waverly.” Hayes said as he rolled up Illya’s sleeve. 

“I guess we have no other alternation.” Mr. Waverly said. 

“Please, Mr. Hayes. This is our only hope.” Napoleon said, pleadingly. 

Hayes shrugged and sighed as he pushed through the needle into Illya’s arm.


	7. Chapter 7

Illya awoke in the hospital and saw Napoleon dozing besides his bed. 

“Napoleon?” Illya said softly. 

Napoleon opened his eyes. 

“Illya?” 

“What happened? I felt I had a really bad dream,” Illya moved his head slightly. “Oh, and my head hurts.” 

_It works! Illya is back! Thank god!_ Napoleon was filled with excitement and happiness. 

“Are you alright, Napoleon?” Illya asked concernedly. 

“I’m alright.” 

Napoleon turned his head. He didn’t want Illya to see that his eyes were full of tears.

......

Everything was back to normal. They went on missions again, wrote post-mission reports, complained about UNCLE’s stinginess, exchanged satirical remarks towards each other, and of course, worried about each other constantly. But somehow, Napoleon missed the intimacy he had with Illya during that short period of time. He missed having breakfast with him, strolling together on the streets, and lying side by side with him. _But that’s not Illya! That’s just some kind of a nightmare!_ Napoleon tried to convince himself. However, he was not sure whether that was really a nightmare anymore. 

Saturday evening. It was rainy. In fact, the weather was exactly like the day when “Illya” first arrived at Napoleon’s house. Napoleon did not have any plans. He cooked himself some dinner. While he was waiting for the water to boil, he once again thought of those days when Illya stood beside him in the kitchen, watching him cooking with eager eyes. Napoleon tried to shrug off his thoughts. _How foolish!_ He thought of himself. He finished his dinner and tried to read a book as a distraction, when the doorbell rang. Napoleon was perplexed. _Who’s going to visit him during this time of a day?_

“Illya!” Napoleon exclaimed immediately after he opened the door. 

Illya was soaking wet. 

“Wh… why are you here? ” After a slight pause, Napoleon continued, “Come on in, you're all wet! I’ll find you a towel and some clothes.” 

Napoleon came back with them and saw Illya standing very still in the middle of the living room. 

“Are you alright, Illya?” Illya did not answer. 

“Well, dry yourself up. I don’t want you to catch a cold.” Napoleon said as he handed Illya the towel. 

Illya dried himself up without saying a word. He suddenly looked up at the sofa. 

“You squeezed me down that thing.” 

“What?” Napoleon did not get it. He paused for a minute. “Wait! You remembered?” 

“Well, I guess something was meant to be.” Illya said as he slightly blushed. 

They both smiled. Illya zipped down his jacket and held out a chubby orange cat. 

“Oh, and I did not forget her.” He put the cat down tenderly. 

“Pumpkin?” Napoleon said in surprise. 

“You don’t mind her staying with us, don’t you?” 

“Us?” 

“That is if you want me.” 

They looked at each other affectionately without saying a single word. 

“Go change your clothes, and I will cook something for you, you must be hungry.” 

Illya smiled at him with gratefulness. Napoleon whistled as he entered the kitchen. He knew that tonight his bed would be warm by the “real” Illya and no doubt, all of the following nights. And Pumpkin? Napoleon was certain that there would be a corner available on the bed for her, so she can curl up happily, contently, just like her two new owners.

\- The End -


End file.
